Friday, August 30, 2024

Holy Cow, she's raisin' cats!

"Lynn, I absolutely put my paw down.  I've been here 11 years and I am not goin' to put up with you raisin' Cats!" 




"I absolutely put my paw down at you havin' cats
in my house."


I finally saw a Monarch lay eggs on the milkweed and
I brought in leaves with 8 eggs.  7 hatched. 
I have a bad feeling Monarchs had a bad winter or
worse Summer flying through so many hurricanes to
get north.



"I do not care if they are purebred Monarch
Cat-A-Pillars.  I do not want cats.  And folks,
Lynn even Amazoned a special net box to
grow these things in.  Wait until they have claws!"



"I say git 'em outa here!
I'm walkin' away furom this mess of cats."


They are ravenous.  I have to drive to cut plants to feed them.
I am very selective so I do not cut ones blooming, gone to seed
or have cats already.  However, sometimes I end up with an
egg or two and then have MORE to feed!



They should be flying away next week.



The above butterfly is a Painted Lady, much smaller than a 
Monarch.  On one of my 9 pink sedum plants. Also loaded
with honey bees.





Thank you for stopping by for a visit and a comment.
It is much appreciated.






26 comments:

WILLIE...! =(^..^)= said...

Your quite right Precious, Cat~A~Pillars are really
ugly...and, yes, don't they eat a lot, those big, fat,
furry ones are really fat....
Still...once they change into a pupae, and then into
a butterfly, they are lovely, especially the Monarch
butterfly...you'll be quite surprised at there colour...
Remind Mum, to take a photo when that happens,
and share it with us...we'll ALL look forward to that!

We are coming to the end of our summer, on Sunday
it's the meteorological first day of Autumn, what ever
that means, to~day it's a nice sunny warm day, so, l'll
pop out into the garden later, and get a few things done.
๐Ÿ’ฅ๐Ÿ”ฅ๐ŸŽ‡๐Ÿงจ๐Ÿ•›๐Ÿฅณ๐ŸŽ‰๐Ÿ’ฅ๐Ÿ”ฅ๐ŸŽ†๐Ÿงจ๐Ÿ•›๐Ÿฅณ๐Ÿ’ฅ๐Ÿ”ฅ๐ŸŽ†๐Ÿ’ฅ๐Ÿ”ฅ๐ŸŽ‡

Zoolatry said...

You are awesome!!!

jabblog said...

Precious, they're not going to be a problem to you. They'll fly away soon.
Lynn : Well done! What a very special thing to do.

Kea said...

Precious, I think you'll be okay with these "cats"! I had no idea you could get a net box for them. I think it's wonderful that you take such good care of them, give them a chance at life. I've seen only a few monarchs this year, seems to be the trend in recent years.

Brian's Home Blog said...

Those kind of Cats are pretty special sweet Precious and they won't eat your foods!

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearesy Lynn and Precious,
What a wonderful thing for growing your own beautiful Monarch caterpillars from eggs!
Both of us were fortunate for seeing millions of them:
https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2021/06/trip-to-zitacuaro-in-michoacan-mexico.html
Here at home they loved the citrus flowers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_dEZasQxv8
So, Precious you better learn and LOVE them too!
Hugs,
Mariette + Kitties

My Mind's Eye said...

LYNN AND PRECIOUS I AM SHOUTING WITH GLEE AND TREMENDOUS HAPPINESS. I DO SO LOVE MONARCHS...AND ALLO BUTTERFLIES. I NEVER EVER NO NEVER KNEW ONCE COULD BRING THEM INSIDE TO RAISE. TRULY AMAZING...
PLEASE TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOS TO SHARE WITH US AS THEY GROW.
PRECIOUS...MOL MOL MOL no worries dear friend. They don't eat Cat food and are the best guests to have...in and out in just a few days.
Hugs cecilia

Eastside Cats said...

Don't bother those 'cats, Precious!

da tabbies o trout towne said...

precious…theez catz R good catz cuz they willna eat yur foodz ore try N uze yur box…they iz good…like fire fliez N ladeee bugz….984 pawzUP two yur
mom, we think thiz iz de kewlest ever! eye had fizh hatch at me houz….but
thiz iz like a bazillion timez better ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️๐Ÿฆ‹๐Ÿฆ‹๐Ÿฆ‹๐Ÿฆ‹๐Ÿฆ‹๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ

Lizzie said...

Precious, I'm so glad your mom is doing this -- their numbers continue to go down. The Fish and Wildlife people are considering listing Monarchs as endangered.

Julie said...

What a great idea that "cat(erpillar) cage" is Lynn. I might have to remember this when they are hatching here. I remember at school we used to feed them cut open pumpkin ... wondering if that still works??
Sorry Precious but you are still number one in the house!!! Have a great weekend - I am trying to burn my rubbish heap before the rain comes - its due very soon. xxx

Lillian "sognafaret" said...

That was amazing

pilch92 said...

Very cool. I wish you lived near me, we have so much milkweed. XO

Melissa, Mudpie and Angel Truffles (Mochas, Mysteries and Meows) said...

You're too funny, Precious! Your little paws are adorable.

messymimi said...

They don't grow claws, Precious, and they won't try to steal your food, either, as they don't eat meat. I'd just let them be, they'll fly away soon enough.

John Bellen said...

Ha! It took me a moment to figure out what Precious was complaining about. It takes a week for the butterflies to be fledged (if I can use that term for a creature without feathers)? Interesting.

Smudge said...

What a wonderful post! How sweet it is for Lynn to do this. And don't worry, Precious, they won't take up much space and it's only temporary.

Memories of Eric and Flynn said...

Don't worry Precious, those cats won't bother you or eat your food. Your momis helping nature by giving them a good start in life. I hope she is doing better now too.

Marvelous Marv said...

Precious! Your Mom is so talented! Our Mom could never ever get a chrysalis to hatch! We have noticed that our butterflies are down this year. But we DO have an overabundance of wasps! There 3-4 times more than there usually is because of the cold weather we had in June. We had an overabundance of gnats (which wasps eat) and thus the wasps are now over-abun-ded. We all miss Cinnamon, Kozmo is not moping as much as he was and Jo Jo has started playing with Nutmeg, Me Marv, I still his at EVERYONE! Except you Precious. You are special! Your #1 Fan Boy, Marvelous Marv

CCL Wendy said...

Precious, I don't think you have to worry about caterpillars having claws. They do look very tasty though. And once they are butterflies you must leave them BEE!

Erin the Cat Princess said...

We have sedum, too, my fav plant species. If the wind is down, and the weather not too hot, they really pull in the insects. Lovely close ups. I, too, would not wish other cats of any description in my place, MOL
ERin

The Oceanside Animals said...

Java Bean: "Ayyy, it could have been worse! At least they are not the caterpillars that turn into giant machines and push lots of dirt around!"
Charlee: "Those painted ladies come through here when they are migrating! It is so much fun to watch them through the windows!"

Chris said...

Lovely to see the life cycle of a butterfly.. you can buy caterpillars to watch this. I did it as a teacher.

CCL Wendy said...

Thanks for stopping by to see Dani kitten and her Mom. Your Seney must have been a Calico cat with white. Only females have three colours in their coats. I had one once many years ago. Lovely purrsonality she had. Dani is a torbie which is a mix between a tortoiseshell and a tabby.

Katie Isabella said...

OH Precious! Tell Lynn my mom is acting like an idiot she is so glad Lynn is doing the and we wanna see every single thing there is to see. XXXXXXXXXXX

LOULOU said...

WOW, Lynn, my mama is SO impressed as are papa and i....what a wonderful thing you are doing to preserve the most beautiful butterfly. Mama used to see them on the butterfly tree in California on the coast near Monterey. Brava!!! and Merci.

Up up and away, for we can fly, we can fly

  "Lynn,  I guess they were not too much trouble.  I don't see any claw marks on you or the net." "They did chew loud whe...